Statistics Canada report offers look at Saskatchewan’s population growth

The Sask. Party government boasted strong population growth in the province after Statistics Canada released a report on population growth seen in the country.

“The number of people living in Saskatchewan grew by 8,567 in the second quarter of 2023, and by 30,685 over the past year. The annual growth is the largest increase in a single year in more than a century,” read the province’s release.

“Saskatchewan’s population has now grown by more than 200,000 people since the current government took office in 2007.”

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As of July 1, 2023, Saskatchewan’s population was 1,209,107.

Patrick Charbonneau is a demographer for Statistics Canada and said the last time Saskatchewan saw the largest increase in population was back in 1921.

He said growth rates across the country were high, noting Saskatchewan was still below the national average.

“Immigration is high, coast to coast to coast in Canada, so Saskatchewan is no exception,” Charbonneau said.

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He said when comparing immigration numbers from last year to what was seen 20 years ago, those levels have increase tenfold.

Charbonneau said the fertility rate in Saskatchewan is also still the highest among provinces and is recording more births than deaths, which isn’t the case in every province.

Looking at 2022 numbers, Saskatchewan had the second highest rate of fertility in women aged 15 to 19 years of age, next to Nunavut, and consistently was in the top three in other age groups until the age groups went higher than 34.

He also spoke about interprovincial migration, saying Saskatchewan is still losing people to other provinces.